Daily Current Affairs

In June 2026, India was elected as Vice-President of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for the first time, following the FATF Plenary meeting held in Paris, France. FATF is the global watchdog responsible for combating money laundering and counter-terrorist financing.

• Vivek Aggarwal — Secretary, Ministry of Culture (MoC), Government of India; appointed FATF Vice-President for term July 2026 to June 2027; succeeds Giles Thomson (UK).
• Giles Thomson — Appointed as next FATF President starting 1 July 2026; succeeds Elisa de Anda Madrazo of Mexico.
• FATF Framework — Runs on a two-year term; VP assists the president in shaping global policy responses to emerging financial threats.
• Membership — 40 members + global network of over 200 jurisdictions.
• India’s Evaluation — Aggarwal led India’s delegation during the Mutual Evaluation process; FATF global network validated India’s regulatory compliance and legal framework resilience.

India’s first digital repository of space-sector capabilities — the ‘Indian Space Industry E-Catalogue’ — was launched at the 5th Indian Space Congress (ISC) 2026, held from June 15–17, 2026 in New Delhi. The catalogue serves as a comprehensive, searchable platform for India’s space and defence industrial ecosystem.

• Developer: Satcom Industry Association (SIA)-India; covers 200+ verified space & defence companies, 20 domains, and 120+ sub-domains.
• Report 1: ‘Building India’s On-Orbit Servicing and Refuelling Ecosystem: Policy, Partnerships, and Pathways Forward’ — in collaboration with OrbitAID.
• Report 2: ‘India’s Strategic Opportunity in Space-Based Compute Infrastructure’ — in partnership with TakeMe2Space.

In June 2026, Osmania University, Hyderabad, Telangana became the first university in India to receive four ISO Management System Certifications simultaneously from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). This landmark achievement positions it as a model institution for multi-domain quality management in Indian higher education.

• Certificates Presented By: Sandeep Kumar Kanojia, Scientist-F and Deputy Director General (Southern Region), BIS, at Senate Hall, Osmania University.
• Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) — India’s national standards body under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
• Osmania University — One of India’s oldest central universities, established in 1918, located in Hyderabad, Telangana.

In June 2026, Kalyani Strategic Systems Limited (KSSL), the defence subsidiary of Bharat Forge Limited (BFL), signed a strategic partnership with AM General, USA, at Eurosatory 2026 — the world’s leading land and airland defence exhibition — held in Paris, France (June 15–19, 2026).

• Objective: Jointly develop and market next-generation 155 mm mounted artillery gun systems for global defence markets.
• Platform: Based on KSSL’s MARG (Mounted Artillery Gun) system integrated with AM General’s vehicle mobility expertise.
• Technology features: 52-calibre 155 mm cannon; patented Soft Recoil Technology (SRT); automated loading; fire-control systems; range: 40+ km.
• Bharat Forge Limited (BFL) — One of India’s largest forging companies; KSSL is its dedicated defence systems subsidiary.
• Eurosatory — World’s leading land and airland defence & security exhibition, held biennially in Paris.

In June 2026, the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital, to establish a climate observation station under the Bharat Climate Observation Network (BCON) in the Himalayan region.

• BCON Climate Observation Station — To be established at Devasthal, Uttarakhand in the Himalayan region; duration: 50+ year MoU.
• Parameters to be monitored: Greenhouse gases, meteorological parameters, short-lived climate forcers, atmospheric chemistry, soil moisture.
• Parent Mission: Under Mission Mausam — Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) initiative to modernise India’s weather and climate observation infrastructure.
• IITM, Pune — Premier institute for tropical meteorology research; under MoES.
• ARIES, Nainital — Autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology (DST); known for astronomy and atmospheric sciences.

The 52nd G7 Summit was held from June 15–17, 2026 in Évian-les-Bains, Haute-Savoie, France under the Presidency of French President Emmanuel Macron. The summit brought together leaders of the G7 nations along with invited partner countries to address major global challenges.

• India’s Participation: PM Narendra Modi attended as a partner country on invitation of Emmanuel Macron.
• Key Outcome 1 — Migration: Adoption of ‘Leaders’ Declaration on Tackling Migrant Smuggling’.
• Key Outcome 2 — Energy: Introduction of ‘POWERR Asia’ (Partnership On Wide Energy and Resources Resilience) by Japanese PM Takaichi — nearly USD 10 billion in financial assistance for energy and critical minerals.
• Key Outcome 3 — Critical Minerals: ‘Declaration on Critical Minerals Supply Chains’ unveiled.
• Key Outcome 4 — West Asia: 14-point MoU signed between USA and Iran to halt the ongoing West Asia conflict.
• Next Summit: 53rd G7 Summit to be hosted by the USA.